Wind-wheel.



F. A. STIRTAN.

W|ND WHEEL.

. APPLICATION FILED JUNE 25, 1912.

Patented Apr. 18, 1916.

4 SHEETSSHEET 1- F. A. STIRTAN.

WIND WHEEL.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE25, 1912.

Patented Apr. 18, 1916.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 2- F. A. STIRTAN.

WIND WHEEL.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 25.1912.

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F. A. STIRTAN.

WIND WHEEL.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE25, 1912.

THE COLUMBIA PLA IQGRAPH cm. WASHINGTON, D. c.

Patented Apr. 18, 1916.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

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FRANK ANDREW STIRTAN, OF SEATTLE, WASHINGTON.

WIND-WHEEL.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented a is, rare.

Application filed June 25, 1912. Serial No. 705,895.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANK A. STIRTAN,

a citizen of the United States, residing at Seattle, in the State of Washington, have invented a new and useful VVind-VVheel, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to wind wheels, and comprises the novel parts and combinations of parts which will be hereinafter described and particularly pointed out in the claims.

The object of my invention is to improve the design and construction of such devices and particularly in such manner as will permit their construction in large units, capable of generating larger powers and such that they will more efliciently make use of the power contained in the wind intercepted thereby.

v In the accompanying drawings I have shown my invention embodied in the form which is now preferred by me.

Figure 1 is an elevation, partially in section, showing one sail in full front view and an opposite one in edge view. Fig. 2 is a plan view of the wheel showing only the upper half of the frame. Fig. 3 is a sectional plan the plane of the section being taken beneath the upper set of wheel arms. Fig. 4 is a plan view, showing on a large scale, the mechanism employed for shifting the vanes in the respective sails to vary their angle with the wind. Fig. 5 shows, in plan, the cam device whereby the angular posi tion of the sails is controlled. Fig. 6 is a section through the pivot axis of the sail, showing the manner of mounting and controlling the separate vanes which control the sail. Fig. 7 shows the connection of the vane controlling mechanism with a sail. Figs. 8 and 9 are, respectively, an elevation and a plan of one of the cam rollers by which the angular position of the sails is controlled.

My invention belongs in that class of wind wheels which employs a wheel frame mounted upon a central axis about which it turns and which carries a plurality of sails mounted to turn upon the outer parts of the wheel frame,upon axes which are substantially parallel with the axis upon which the wheel as a whole turns, so that the angle which the sail presents to the wind will vary in a relationship determined by the angular direction of the arm upon which it is mounted, relative to the direction of the wind. This variation of angle secures an efficient working angle for the greater portion of the circle. By my present invention this variation of angle of the vanes with the wlnd, does not take place in a constant and regular manner, but is secured by having segments wherein the sails or vanes, are held at a constant angle with the wind, and other segments wherein they are turned to present variable angles with the wind.

The wheel frame may be of any construction which is adapted to produce an efficient and economical support for the sails and the other apparatus used. As herein shown it consists of top and bottom radial arms 3, connected at their inner ends with suitable hubs, the upper set with hub 413, which rests upon the tower 8 and the lower set with a ring-like hub which encircles the tower. The upper and lower sets of arms and the arms of the same set, should be connected by suitable braces and rods to make a strong structure of the wheel frame.

The preferred form of structure for the sails consists, as herein shown, of a marginal frame 91 and a central cross bar 10, which also serves as the pivot bar for the sail frame upon which it may turn within the wheel frame. Within this frame are pivoted a series of vane-s, the pivots being in the central pivot bar 10 and in the parallel sides of the frame.

The vanes 9 are herein shown as divided into two series for each sail, one at each side of the central pivot bar 10. Their pivot hearings in the central bar 10, are made common for like vanes at each side of said bar 10, and the pivot bars are bent to form cranks 90, which are connected with a controlling bar 11, by which all the vanes of a sail are made to preserve a common angle and whereby their angles may be controlled alike and simultaneously.

The central pivot bar 10, of the sail frame, is herein shown as being of a channel cross section, with thecranks and the controlling bar 11, lying within the channel thereof. At its lower end, said controlling bar is offset, as may be necessary to properly engage a pin 12, which extends through the pivot bearing of said bar 10.

A bell-crank lever 13, pivoted upon the underside of the wheel arm 3, has its horizontal arm engaging the lower end of pin 12 and has its lower, or depending arm, weighted so as to act as a governor arm. I prefer that this weight be separate from the arm and adjustable thereon, as is indicated 4 desired, within certain limits.

revolves at considerable speed the centrifuin Fig. 1, so that adjustment may be made to control the wheel for whatever speed is If the wheel gal force generated in the weighted end of this bell-crank lever, will tend to swing it outward, and thus to move the rod 11 upward through the medium of the pin '12 which is interposed between them. The connection of the controlling bar 11 with the crank arms 90 of the vanes 9, will cause .Ll'l upward movement of said rod to turn he vanes toward a horizontal position, in which they will offer much less resistance to the wind and the wind will have little effect thereon to turn the wheel. I have also provided means whereby the vanes may be controlled in position by hand, irrespective of the automatic action described. Each of the weighted governing levers 13, is connected, by a rod 14, with a lever 30, pivoted upon the arm 3 of the wheel. Lever is connected with a rod 31, which extends to the hub and at the hub is connected with a segment gear 17, at a point 32, outward from its center, so that, when said segment gear is turned, the rod 31 will be reciprocated and the lever 13 will be swung correspondingly.

The segment gears 17, of which there are as many as there are sails, mesh with an annular or ring-like gear 15, which is mounted to have a limited circular movement upon the central hub. I have shown this as being secured by forming slots 33 in the wheel, in which slots are placed pins carried by the hub, as shown at 16. The toothed ring or gear, 15, is secured to turn with a bevel gear ring 19', and the latter is turned through the means of a bevel pinion 20, which is carried by a vertical shaft 20*, which extends downward to a convenient point for operating. This shaft is provided with operating means, as a crank, and the shaft and pinion 20, or the pinion alone, are

vertically movable at will, a sulficient distance to engage or disengage the pinion with the gear 19. lVhen the pinion and gear are in engagement, it is possible to so turn the gear 15 as to turn the vanes into any desired position. This is, however, only possible while the wheel is at rest. The shifting of the vanes into inoperative position while the wheel is running is accomplished by means of a brake mechanism which is later described. The sails as a whole are controlled in their angular position by mechanism which causes them to present a full face to the wind during a considerable angle at one side of the wheel, an edge to the wind while passing through rather a small angle at the opposite side of the wheel, and a variable angle gradually shifting from one position to the other, while passing through the portions of their path between these other or fixed-angle positions. The means by which I prefer to secure these results are as follows: The pivot axis of each sail has a crank 41, secured thereto, to which is secured a rod 40, which is pivoted to a rod at, which is slidingly supported upon the upper arm 3 of the wheel. At its inner end, this rod 4: has a cam roller 44 thereon, which travels within a cam groove or trackway in the surface of a disk 5 which is secured fixedly upon the pivot about which the wheels turn.

his cam groove contains an inner loop 51 and an outer loop 50, the two crossing or combining at 52, the other, the crossing being controlled by a switch 53, which is automatically operated bv the cam rollers. In this figure the circles marked consecutively from 1 to 7 represent rollers carried by the inner ends of the vanecontrolling rods at, of Fig. 2, while those marked 1, 2, etc., represent the positions assumed by the same rollers when the disk 5 has made one full turn. The paths of movement of these cam rollers are radii of the disk, for the reason that the rods 1 are constrained to reciprocate lengthwise and in a direction which is radial to the rotative center of disk 5. In Fig. 2 these rollers are indicated by the small circles at the inner ends of the rods 1. The cam disk 5 is located above these rods and has been removed E in Fig. 2. The cam groove consists of two concentric segments and 51 of circular outline but of differing radii, and suitable connecting inclines, the same resembling a double heart cam. The major portion of the outer loop 50, is constructed so that the position of the sails will be held substantially stationary, or in fixed position, while passing through a considerable are, as is indicated by those sails which lie at the left in Fig. 2. The same condition exists in the inner loop. In this connection, I have shown a certain relationship in the position of the sails, which is secured by a certain outline of cam, but it is clear that I may vary the proportions of this cam to secure any kind of control over the sails which may be deemed desirable. fixed to the cam disk 5 and carries the vane or rudder 55. The shaft 54: is journaled in the fixed frame, so that the wind acting upon the vane may shift the cam disk 5,

one loop discharging into The shaft 54. is

thereby maintaining a certain relationship...

between the direction of angular position of the sails. That is, the points in the circular paths of the sails about the center of the wheel, where the sail the wind and the at one side is radial to the wheel and at the.

other side is tangent to the wheel, are at all times upon a diameter which is perpendicular to the plane of the vane. In this way the vane 55 shifts the vanes to present the proper angle to the wind, from whateverv 7 direction it may come.

By turning the shifting gear 15 which meshes with the segment gears 17, the vanes which compose the sails may be shifted to change their angular position, thereby varying the force produced by the wind. This may be done through a vertical shaft 20 which has a pinion 20 meshing with the teeth 19 on the inner edge of the gear ring 15. This shaft, if made movable vertically, will enable pinion 20 and gear 19 to be connected and disconnected at will.

Surrounding the vane-shifting gear 15, is a brake band 18, having one end secured'to a fixed pin 180, or any other suitable support. Its other end is secured to pin 181 carried by the outer or swinging end of a crankarm 182, which is mounted on a vertical shaft 183, which extends to any convenient point where it can be conveniently operated. By applying this brake, the gear 15, 19, is retarded in its rotation relative to the frame 22 upon which the wheel frame is built. This relative backward movement will turn the segment gears 17 and thus turn the vanes 9 edgewise to the wind, in part or wholly, depending upon the amount of this relative backward movement. A second brake band 21 engages with the frame 22 to hold the wheel as a whole from turning. One end of this brake band is secured at 210 and the other is secured at 211, to a crank arm 212 carried by a vertical shaft 213, through which it is controlled. WVhen this brake is applied, the wheel is held against turning.

By the use of the type of construction illustrated, it is possible to build wheels of very large size which will generate considerable power.

"What I claim as my invention is:

1. A wind wheel comprising a wheel frame mounted to turn upon a vertical axis, sail frames pivoted upon vertical axes at the outer parts of said wheel frame, a series of vanes pivoted to turn upon horizontal axes in said sail frames, means connecting said vanes of each frame to turn them together, links connecting said vane-controlling means with the central portion of the wheel, a toothed ring mounted centrally of the wheel, a segment gear for each vane frame meshing with said toothed ring, and a crank on each segment gear connected with the link for controlling the vanes of its respective vane frame, and means for rotatably shifting said toothed ring.

2. In a wind wheel, in combination, a wheel frame mounted to turn about a central axis, sails carried by said wheel and turnable about axes substantially parallel with the axis of the wheel, means for controlling the angular position of the sails, each sail having a series of pivoted vanes forming the sail surfaces, a rod connecting all the vanes of each sail to insure uniform angular position thereof, a pin extending through the pivot of the sail and having operative connection with said vane-controlling rod, a weighted lever pivoted to the wheel frame adjacent each said pivot to swing radially of the wheel and having operative connection with the said pin to actuate it.

3. In a wind wheel of the type described, a sail comprising a frame having a bar extending along its pivot axis, vanes extending from said central bar to the side members of the frame, and pivoted to turn on axes extending transverse the pivot axis of the sail, crank arms connected with the vane pivots at their ends next the central pivot bar of the sail, a rod connecting all said crank arms, a hollow pivot bearing at one end of the sail pivot, a pin passing through said hollow pivot bearing and engaging said vane-connecting rod, and a weighted bellcrank lever pivoted on the wheel frame adjacent each sail pivot and engaging said pin for controlling the angular position of the vanes.

4. In a wind wheel of the type described, a sail comprising a frame having pivots upon which it may turn and sail surfaces composed of a series of pivoted vanes, means connecting the vanes to control their angular position, a separate governor weight for each sail mounted adjacent the pivot of said sail and to swing radially of the wheel, and means actuatively connecting said weight with the vane-controlling member for that sail.

5. In a wind wheel, in combination, a wheel frame mounted to turn upon a vertical axis, a series of sails pivoted by vertical axes in the wheel frame, the sail surfaces being composed of a series of pivoted vanes, means connecting the vanes of each sail to control their position alike, a transmission member acting through the pivot of each sail, a link connecting each of said transmission members with the central part of the wheel, a. crank connected with the inner end of each of said links, a rotatably shiftable ring concentrically carried by the wheel and having a rotatable connection with each of said cranks, and means for applying friction to said ring to retard its turning with the wheel.

6. In a wind wheel, in combination, a wheel frame mounted to turn upon a vertical axis, a series of sails pivoted by vertical axes in the wheel frame, the sail surfaces being composed of a series of pivoted vanes, means connecting the vanes of each sail to control their position alike, a transmission member acting through the pivot of each sail, a link connecting each of said transmis sion members with the central part of the wheel, a crank connected with the inner end of each of said links, a rotatably shiftable ring concentrically carried by the wheel and having a rotatable connection with each of said cranks, means for applying friction to said ring to retard its turning with the wheel, and means for manually turning said ring in the opposite direction.

7. In a Wind wheel, in combination, a wheel frame mounted to turn upon a vertical axis, a series of sails pivoted by vertical axes in the wheel frame, the sail surfaces being composed of a'series of pivoted vanes,

means connecting the vanes of each sail to control their position alike, a transmission member acting through'the pivot' of each sail, a link connecting each of said transanission members with the central part of engage it with said gear.

8. Ina wind wheel, in combination, a wheel frame mounted to turn upon a vertical axis, a series of sails pivoted by vertical axes in the outer parts of said frame, each comprising a frame having a central pivot bar of U-shaped or channeled cross section, vanes extending between said central pivot bar and the side bars of the frame, an end Copies-of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the of the pivot for each frame extending through a flange of said central bar and connected with its companion vane by acrank lying within the channel of the said central bar, a rod connecting all said cranks of a sail, a pin engaging one end of said connecting rod and passing through a pivot bearing for the sail, and means for actuating said pins alike for all the sails.

9. In a Wind wheel, in combination, a Wheel frame mounted to turn upon a vertical axis, a series of sails pivoted by vertical axes in the outer parts of said frame, each comprising a frame having a central pivot bar of U-shaped or channeled cross section, vanes extending between said central pivot bar and the side bars of the frame, an end of the pivot for each frame extending through a flange of said central bar and connected with its companion vane by a crank lying within the channel of the said central bar, a rod connecting all said cranks of a sail, a pin engaging one end of said connecting rod and passing through a pivot bearing for the sail, bell-crank levers carried by the frame and acting upon each of said pins, a central controlling member, and transmission members connecting said central controlling member with each bell-crank lever.

FRANK ANDREW STIRTAN.

Witnesses to signature:

F. T. HALL, CATHERINE D. STIRTAN.

Commissioner of Patents.

Washington, D. G. 

